


Looking For My Family

by LysaRaine



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Babysitting, Extramarital Affairs, F/M, Falling In Love, Infidelity, Single Parents, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:48:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25051183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LysaRaine/pseuds/LysaRaine
Summary: After Hope Mikaelson becomes pregnant as a result of an affair with a married man, who then leaves her, she tries to figure out how to be a single mother. She then meets cab driver, Kai Parker and he helps her with her new son.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Malachai "Kai" Parker, Landon Kirby/Hope Mikaelson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Should've Known Better

CPA Hope Mikaelson was sitting in the office of one of her clients, Landon Kirby, trying to figure out his finances, seeing something that confused her.

“I think your bookeeper paid for the flatware twice.”

“Oh,” Landon said as he puts his hand on Hope’s leg, raising her skirt up before her hand reached up to stop him.

“Landon? Landon, stop!” She knocks his hand off, looking up at him. “Landon, I can’t do this anymore!”

Landon looks at her, smiling. “Hope, I love you. And you love me, I know you do!”

“Of course I love you, Landon! You’re a wonderful father, you’re great in bed and you’re my biggest account! But you’re married! And I will never fall in love with anyone else as long as I’m seeing you, so I think you should just work with a different accountant!” Hope looks at him, inwardly cursing herself when she hears her voice break.

Landon looks at her, giving her a sympathetic look. “You know I’m leaving Bree. It just takes time.” He gets up and walks around behind her. “We talked about it this weekend. Anytime I even say the word divorce, she loses five pounds.”

Hope sits there, trying to keep her emotions in check. “I’m sorry she’s bulimic.” She then feels Landon’s hands on her shoulders, shrugging him off. “But I cannot spend the rest of my life waiting for you, Landon!”

“It’s gonna work out very soon now. Her doctor’s got her on these mood elevators and she’s starting ballet classes.”

He leans in and kisses her neck as she rolls her eyes. “It’ll probably be just like the playwriting.”

Standing up, shaking his head, he responds, “No, this is a commitment to something she knows can’t make her fat.” He unzips the back of her dress as he continues. “She said that when she was writing she could feel her ass spreading. She’s insane! She’s got a great behind for someone her age!” He lowers the top of her dress off her shoulders, kissing her neck again.

Hope starts to give in and leans her head back, then moving to push him off her. “Landon, I’m gonna ask Mr. Ross to give your account to someone else!”

“I won’t let him! I’ll never let anyone else touch my books!”

He then leans in to kiss her neck again when she stands up and turns around to face him, giving him a stern look.

“Oh God, Hope! I’m gonna burst if you don’t kiss me soon!”

Hope finally gave in and they ended up on the couch in his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is loosely based on Look Who's Talking, though with some changes.


	2. Expect The Unexpected

**One month later**

Hope leans over the toilet in the ladies room where she works, throwing up.

Her best friend, Josie Saltzman, and another co-worker heard her and both of them had a disgusted look on their face until the co-worker left and Josie decided to check on her.

“Are you okay?”

Hope raises up, not wanting to chance opening her mouth. “Mhmm.”

Deciding to make conversation, Josie said, “Well, I broke up with Jed last night.”

“Who,” Hope asked just before another round came up.

“Jed! You remember! Anyway, I just thought to myself, ‘I don’t wanna spend the rest of my life with someone stupid’!”

Hope rolls her eyes as she sits up, then flushes the toilet and walks out, going over to the sink to rinse her mouth, holding her hair back.

Josie takes one look at her, feeling concerned. “You look horrible, girl!”

Nodding as she rinses her mouth, Hope spits it out and sighs. “I’m trying to kick that stomach flu that’s been going around.”

Josie looks at her confused. “What stomach flu? No one here has the stomach flu.”

Hope looks at her confused. “They don’t?”

Smiling at her reflection in the mirror, Josie shakes her head. “No, nobody’s sick!”

They both walk out and Hope whispers to her, “So, do you wanna hear the good news about Landon?”

Josie nods as she sees her twin sister, Lizzie, smiling at her and saying hi as Hope leans in and whispers, “You’re not listening.”

Josie throws over her shoulder, “I am!”

Hope whispers back, “Listen to me!”

“I am!”

“Alright, remember when Landon’s shrink said that Bree would never get better as long as he kept seeing me?”

Josie nodded. “Yeah, you’ve told me a million times.”

Hope smiles wide. “Well, he’s decided to leave her!”

Josie’s eyes widened. “Landon’s leaving his wife?”

Hope takes a drink of a Sprite she had on her desk, shaking her head. “No, he’s leaving his shrink! And it’s a good thing, too, because she was really starting to become an obstacle course!”

Jose shakes her head. “Who cares if he’s leaving his shrink? I mean, he’s supposed to leave his wife!”

Hope looks at her best friend. “He’s going to! He can’t just leave her while she’s sick!”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s bulimic!”

Josie gives her an ‘Uh-huh, sure!’ look.

“Don’t give me that look! It’s a very serious disease!”

\----------------------------------

Sitting at her parents house, eating a plate full of food as her mother, Hayley lectures her on her social life while her father, Klaus, just reads.

“Miss Popularity here! How do you ever expect to find a husband if you never go out?”

“I go out!”

Hayley, lets out a scoff. “I can call your apartment any night of the week, you’re in!”

“Mom, it’s tax season! I am an accountant!”

“I know it’s tax season, but when I was your age, I was just as responsible with that stuff as you are, but I still managed to dress nicely and catch your dad!”

Hope looks between Hayley and Klaus, looking back to Hayley. “Mom, what would you have done if dad was married when you first met him?”

Hayley looks at her daughter very seriously. “I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him!”

Giving her a look, Hope says, “You can’t control who you fall in love with!”

“Why not?”

Hope raises her brows. “You just can’t!”

Hayley looks at Hope, confused. “You never used to like my food before.”

“I still don’t. I’m just hungry.”

Hayley shakes her head. “Something’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Hayley looks nervous, almost panicked. “Something’s wrong!” She then looks to her husband. “Klaus? Klaus, something’s wrong!”

Hope looks at her dad. “Dad, I didn’t eat breakfast today, nothing’s wrong!”

Klaus just looks at Hayley, sighs, shakes his head and goes back to reading.

Hayley looks at Hope, shaking her head. “Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong!”

\----------------------------------

Sitting on a stool in the bathroom of her apartment, Hope looks at the home pregnancy test she took and shakes her head.

“No!”

She picks the box up and looks to make sure she read it right, then sighing and groaning. “Oh, no!”

A few days later, she goes in for a doctor’s appointment, where he confirms her pregnancy, groaning again. “Oh, no!”

The doctor looks at her. “I take it this wasn’t a planned pregnancy.”

She sighs. “This wasn’t even a planned affair!”

Nodding the doctor says, “Well, lay back and let’s see how far along we are.”

She lays back, feeling him examining her stomach before telling her about when she conceived, then she sits up quickly.

“How could this have happened?”

The doctor walks around to stand in front of her. “How old are you, Hope?”

She sighs. “Twenty-five.”

He nods. “Well, it’s not as if your biological clock is ticking. And your still being young is a good thing.”

She sits there and sighs again.

\----------------------------------

She waits a week and decides to tell Landon as they take a walk through the park.

“I didn’t plan on this and, Landon, I’m not asking for anything. I don’t wanna pressure you or trap you. But this baby, it’s you and me. And I’m not getting an abortion.”

Wrapping an arm around her, he smiles. “Hope, I wasn’t gonna ask you to do that! This is gonna be an incredible baby! It’ll have your sweet face, my business sense. We’ll get it all the coolest toys and the best clothes money can buy!”

Hope smiles as she thinks about it. “It is gonna be a great kid, isn’t it?”

Nodding Landon starts singing Having My Baby to Hope as she puts her hands over her ears.

“Landon, you’re making me sick! I really hate that song!”

He chuckles and stops singing. “So, what are you gonna tell people? I mean...”

Hope shrugs and nods. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna tell everyone I got artificially inseminated.”

\----------------------------------

The next day, Hope goes to tell her parents. Hayley stands at the refrigerator, getting something out of the freezer and slams it shut upon hearing the news.

“What?”

Hope stands there, her brows raised. “Mom, I thought you’d be happy!”

“How could you do such a thing?”

“It was easy! I just went to the clinic and had the procedure done there. They just put my feet up into the stirrups, took the...sample...inserted it into me and now I’m pregnant.”

Hayley’s brows raised. “So that’s it? Now you and some unknown guy are having a baby!”

Hope sighs. “Mom, it’s not just some random guy...”

Hayley interrupted her before she could finish. “It’s not a husband!” She then turns to look at her husband. “Klaus, you hear this?”

Klaus just ignores her and keeps working on his laptop.

“Mom, you were the one who told me I could control my life! And I made a decision! I wanna have a baby!”

Hayley shakes her head. “I don’t understand this! This is the kind of a thing a girl does if she’s very ugly or a lesbian! This is not the act of a gorgeous, intelligent girl who can have any man she wants!”

Giving her mother a look, Hope crosses her arms. “Mom, you’ve never liked any of my boyfriends anyway!”

Hayley sighs, looking at her. “Okay, where did the sperm come from? I mean, who’s the donor?”

Hope shrugs, having come up with a great lie before coming over. “A medical student.”

Hayley’s face lights up as she smiles. “And?”

Shrugging, Hope says, “And he goes to Columbia. Parents live on the island. His father’s in peace goods, his mother works for a cosmetics firm. Mom, she can get you a great discount!”

Hayley looks at her in shock, raising her brow. “So you’re making fun of me, huh? Wait! Wait, you’ll see! Someday, you’ll have children!” She slams the door and gives Hope a look.


	3. Preparing

Over the course of the first trimester, Hope and Josie get everything ready for Hope’s baby and having fun doing it. Landon even bought some clothes that would work for either a boy or a girl.

Finally in her second trimester, Hope was hanging out with Josie while she was reading Hope some pregnancy facts as Hope guzzled down a half a gallon of apple juice in one gulp.

Josie just looked at her, brows raised. “Thirsty?”

Hope just smiled and shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Josie chuckled and read to her. “Okay, the sex organs are molded out of similar tissue folds.” Trying not to laugh, she continued. “By the second trimester, one can identify the vulva or penis!”

\-------------------------------

**Third Trimester**

Hope munches on chips as she walks to Landon’s office, his secretary stopping her.

“Miss? Miss, excuse me! What can I do for you?”

Hope puts a chip in her mouth, answering her. “Landon’s expecting me.”

The secretary looks annoyed. “He’s in with his decorator. You can wait over there.” She points to some chairs before going back to what she was doing.

Hope turns around, giving her a nasty look as she walks over and sits down, rubbing her stomach before seeing Landon come out with a beautiful woman, narrowing her eyes a bit before the woman left and Landon saw her sitting there.

“Hey! Come on in!”

Hope gets up and walks in, standing there waiting for him to close the door. Once he closes it, she drops all her things and they start kissing heavily. She then pushes him away, looking up at him.

“Landon, do you think that other woman out there’s pretty?”

He looks at her confused. “No, you’re pretty!”

“No, I look like a big, fat pilgrim!”

He takes her by the hand, guiding her over to a desk. “Hey, how do you like the desk, huh? It’s made of stone from Mexico! It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

She nods and shrugs. “It’s alright.”

He walks her around, excitedly. “Oh, it’s gonna be great in here! The fountain stays the same, but this is all going. I’m gonna have this custom-made mural of an ancient Mayan design. And, uh, this family of leather craftsman in Mexico is gonna make all new couches.”

Hope walks around with him before sitting down, starting back on her chips.

“So, what do you think?”

She shrugs. “I like the deco stuff.”

He looks at her almost worried. “You know, you shouldn’t gain too much weight.”

Hope looks up at him. “My doctor said my weight is fine.”

He shrugs. “Bree only gained twenty-one pounds.”

Trying to keep from being snippy, she answered, “Gee, you don’t say!”

“She was jogging three miles a day a week before Alyssa was born.”

Raising her brows, she sarcastically says, “What a champ! Maybe you should marry her!”

He gives her a look. “Don’t start. You’re not the only one with problems.”

She sighs and nods. “I’m sorry, Landon. I’m just afraid of giving birth. I’ve never really been big on pain.”

“Well, have you been practicing your Lamaze?”

She looks at him guiltily. “I quit.”

“You what? You quit?”

She shrugs. “Well, the whole thing’s just a bunch of breathing!”

“But it’s healthier for the baby! When Bree had Penelope...”

Hope snapped.

“Oh, I am so sick of hearing about Bree! Bree, Bree, Bree, Bree, Bree! And I’m having a hard time understanding how you can be in love with someone like her and then in love with someone like me! I have a business degree, she takes ballet dancing lessons! I have medical insurance, she has magic crystals! I made out a will in case I don’t make it through delivery! When Bree had the girls, she had a reading of their past lives! I just don’t get it, Landon! And, to top it all off, you’re still with her!”

He stands up, smiling, reaching in his inside pocket of his jacket. “Oh yeah? Look at this receipt.”

She looks at it. “Riverside Apartments.”

He nods, smiling. “That’s right, I moved out.”

She looks up at him in shock. “What?”

“I did it! I put down a deposit this morning and I’ve got my own place now!”

Hope lets out a squeal, clapping and hugging him. “I can’t believe it! Should I come by tonight?”

He gives her an unsure look. “You better not. We gotta be very careful for just a little while longer.”

She nods. “Oh God, Landon, I’m so happy!”

She pulls him in for a kiss.


	4. More Than Just Labor Pains

Hope and Josie go shopping for Josie when Hope feels like she has to go to the bathroom.

“I wonder if this store has a bathroom.”

Josie looks at her with wide eyes. “You just went two stores ago!”

“I know and I have to go again!”

They walk inside and Hope goes to the restroom, coming back out and looking through dresses with Josie, finding a cute one.

“Oh, I love this!” She puts it up against her, making a face. “Look, it takes two of them to cover me!”

Josie smiles, laying her head on Hope’s shoulder. “Yeah, but you’re having a baby!”

She hands it to Josie. “You try it on!”

Josie takes it and changes into it right there, putting it on before taking her shirt off.

“I want a baby! Should I have one with Mike?”

Shrugging, Hope asks her, “Do you love him?”

Josie shrugs. “No!”

Hope chuckles as she helps her. “You should try some of that Nobel Prize Winner sperm!”

Josie looks at her like she’s crazy. “Nobel Prize Winners ejaculating in jars?”

“Well, give it a thought! Don’t you want a smart baby?”

Josie lets out a sarcastic chuckle. “Yeah, that’s all I need! A baby telling me what an idiot I am! As if I don’t get enough of that at work!”

“God, I am so lucky I found a nice, handsome family man!”

Giving Hope a look. “Yeah, except it’s someone else’s family!”

“Yeah, but that’s why he left! Because he’s in love with me and we’re gonna have a baby!”

Josie smirks as she whispers to her, “Sounds like the people in the next room are!”

Hope listens as she hears a couple sound like they were getting ready to get it on when the curtain to the room opens and she sees Landon in there with his decorator, her face falling as she looks at him, grabs her purse and walks out.

“Hope?”

Josie just stands there, looking disgusted as the decorator calls out to Landon as he runs out, Josie following him.

He catches up to her and turns her to look at him. “Hope, let me explain!”

Josie runs over to stand next to Hope as the decorator stands next to Landon. “Oh, this I gotta hear!”

The saleslady from the stores runs out, looking at Josie and the decorator. “Excuse me, these dresses haven’t been paid for.”

Neither girl listens as the decorator looks at Landon. “Landon, I thought you told her!”

Josie hears and looks at Hope. “Don’t take this shit from him!”

The saleslady interferes and says, “I’m gonna call the cops if you don’t move the dresses back in. Now! Thank you!”

Josie and the decorator walk back in while Hope stands there, looking at Landon.

“Landon, what’s going on?”

He looks at her, remorseful. “Hope, I’ve fallen in love. Bree knows all about it. I’m gonna move in with Melanie. I don’t know if it’ll last or what. It just happened and I had to act on it.”

Standing there in shock as she shakes her head. “How can this be? What didn’t you say anything to me about it?”

“I didn’t wanna upset you when you were so close to the end of your pregnancy.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

He looks at her. “Hope, I know this sounds awful, but I’m going through a selfish phase right now.”

She raises her brows. “A selfish phase?”

“I’ll admit, the timing is bad.”

“A selfish phase?”

“It’s not like I planned on it, it just happened.”

“A selfish phase? Landon, you dick! Stupid dickhead!” She hits him in his chest before turning and walking away.

Josie hears this and runs out, jumping on Landon’s back. “You lousy prick!”

Melanie runs out, trying to get Josie off him as Hope keeps walking. She starts crying, mumbling to herself. “How could he do this to me and my baby?”

Suddenly she feels something wrong, frozen in place, realizing what it was. She looks over and sees a man getting ready to get into a cab.

She walks up to him. “Hey, please? I’m in labor!”

He looks at her. “I was here first!”

“Come on, buddy, come me some slack!”

He gets in the cab and it drives off. She stands up straight, yelling at him. “Asshole!”

She then turns and hails a cab, seeing one pulling up beside her, getting in, shutting the door and looking at the driver. “Whitmore Medical Center.”

She then let out a cry of pain.

The driver turns to look at her, seeing she was clearly in labor, his eyes widening. “Oh, shit!”

He speeds off, shocking her. She looks at the name on his ID on the dashboard, seeing it said Kai Parker.

“Hey, Kai! Slow down! The first stage of labor can take hours!”

“Yeah, so can the mid-town traffic!”

He drives fast through the traffic, honking as he was almost cut off by another car, yelling at them before she lets out a scream, pointing straight. He swerves and gets back into his lane.

“God, you idiot!”

Driving up to a traffic jam, he honks his horn, trying to get into a better lane, but seeing it not getting any better.

“Can we go any faster?”

He nods. “We’re going as fast as we can. Look, I can’t move the cars, you know what I mean?” He hears her let out a breath. “Just relax. Hold onto my hand. Bear down.”

“I don’t wanna hold...”

“Well, that’s what they say in the hospital, bear down.”

She lets out another loud moan as he honks his horn again.

“Come on, move it!”

She then realizes something, her eyes widening. “Oh God, my water just broke!”

He turns to look and then turns back around. “Woah!” Sticking his head out the window, yelling at someone. “Hey, buddy, move it!”

He drives a few feet only for a road construction worker stop him. “Hey, you can’t drive through here! Come around!”

He slams his hand against the outside of the door. “I got an emergency!”

“Sorry, buddy, move it!”

He drives through the work zone, talking to her again. “Just relax. Hold on, we’re almost there.”

He keeps going, trying to keep an eye on her.

“Look out, you’re gonna hit...”

He looks up and dodges hitting other workers, swerving around the road to miss them, then spinning the car around, changing gears.

“Hold on!”

He then drives off in reverse before spinning around again. Hope holds on as he spins them around.

“Woah! You stupid sonofa...” She then feels another pain. “Oh God!”

He looks back at her. “Are you doing your Lamaze breathing?”

She glares at him. “Look out!”

He drives up onto the sidewalk and he stays on it as he keeps talking to her. “Come on, breathe deep! Breathe deep!”

She hits him in the back of the shoulder. “Don’t try to help me, just drive!”

“Look, you gotta use Lamaze! It works! My sister used it, you don’t use drugs and it’s better for the kid!”

“The only people who say stupid things like that are men because they’re idiots!”

He looks at her in the rear view mirror. “Do you want me to call your husband when we get to the hospital?”

“I don’t have a husband!”

“How about your boyfriend?”

She lets out a huff. “Look, if you have to know my life history, I was artificially inseminated!”

Kai raised his brows. “What are you, a lesbo?”

Hope looks at him, eyes wide and her mouth dropped.

He finally pulls up in front of the hospital, Kai walks around and tries to help her out and into the hospital.

Hope gets out and starts hitting him. “Stupid jerk! My kid will probably have brain damage because of you!”

She suddenly feels another pain as he tries to help her.

“Don’t touch me! Just don’t touch me! I’ll just have this baby without you touching me!”

They both walk in and she goes to the front desk. “Excuse me, I’m in labor.”

The nurse there looks up at her. “Yes, do you have your medical card?”

“Um, I left it in the cab. I have insurance.”

“I’ll have to have your card.”

“This is my first baby. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

An EMT come up to Kai, annoyed. “You’re blocking an unloading zone.”

“I was bringing someone to the hospital!”

“Get it out of here!”

“Put up a sign!”

The EMT walks off as Hope feels another pain. The doctor standing there calls for a wheelchair as the nurse tells him she didn’t finish what she was doing, but a nurse came and wheeled Hope off as another one came up to Kai, guiding him with him, giving him some scrubs to wear.

“Here, put these on over your clothes. Come on, man, she’s close!”

Kai calls out to him. “But I’m not the father!”

Once Hope’s been taken to a room and into a hospital gown, she looks at the nurse. “Nurse, another one’s coming!”

The nurse, an older lady sitting in a chair reading a magazine, looked at her. “Deep breaths, come on!”

Hope lets out a scream, then looks over at her. “I need some drugs!”

“Slow down your breathing, you’re not in aerobics class!”

Hope looks over at her and growls. “Fuck my breathing!”

Kai walks in at that moment, laughing. “Woah, calm down or we’ll have to get the exorcist in here!”

Hope pulls on his shirt, yanking him close to her. “Gimme some drugs!”

He shakes his head. “No, you don’t want any drugs.”

“Yes, I do, I’m gonna split in two!”

Kai stands up and looks at the nurse. “Can you do something about this?”

“She’s almost fully dilated. By the time they take affect, she could be delivering.”

“Well, what about now?”

She sighs. “Well, the doctor’s on his way in and I can’t do anything without his consent.”

Kai walks out and runs to find a doctor, seeing one and looking at him. “Are you a doctor?”

He nods and Kai pulls him along with him. They go into Hope’s room and the doctor looks at Hope and then the nurse.

“Water break?”

“Half an hour ago.”

“Dilation?”

“Five centimeters.”

The doctor looks at Hope. “Well, are we doing our Lamaze breathing?”

She looks back up at him. “God, I’m really trying, but I dropped out of Lamaze. And I’ll take make-ups! I’ll even go to summer school if you make the pain stop!”

He nods. “Well, how about some Demerol. Take the edge off the contractions.”

“Oh, yes! Oh God, that’d be great! I’d really like some of that! But give me a lot of it so that it doesn’t wear off in the middle of the birth. And give me more than you usually give women because I think I might be in a little bit more pain than most of your patients.”

He starts injecting her with the Demerol as she keeps going.

“How long is this gonna take to kick in? Be sure to give me enough to last and last.”

The doctor takes the needle out and smiles. “There we go, there we go!”

She already feels the pain stop, smiling up at him. “Thank you a really lot!”

\-----------------------------

A while later, Hope’s in the delivery room with just her doctor, a nurse and Kai.

“That’s it! Breathe! Come on, breathe!”

She takes deep breaths as she rests for a moment.

“That’s it! Push! One more!”

Kai stands there coaching her as he holds her hand while Hope pushes one more time before the doctor tells her to relax.

The doctor holds the baby up and Hope sees that it’s a boy, smiling as she looks at him, watching as the doctor asks Kai if he wants to cut the cord.

“No, you take this one.”

The doctor cuts the cord and Hope watches as he cleans the baby up and wraps him in a blanket before bringing him over to Hope to hold.

She looks down at him, smiling. “So, you’re the one who’s been kicking me.”

She feels herself start to cry as she looks at his face.

\------------------------------

Hope stands at the window, looking down at the baby, seeing all the fathers happy and smiling as they look at their babies.

“Look at all those daddies down there. They’re making goofball faces and taking pictures of their babies.” She looks over at the baby. “Well, you won’t find your father here. I really messed things up for you. Look, I don’t want you to be upset cause I’m gonna find you a daddy. And, this time, I’m gonna be smart about it. I’m not gonna go for some handsome guy just because I’m in love with him. You’re the only thing that matters to me, so I’m gonna go out there and find you the best daddy there is!”


	5. The Babysitter

Hope started getting ready for the day when she looked over at the baby, smiling as she saw him looking at his hand.

“What’d you find, little man? A hand? Did you find a hand?”

Seeing him smile up at her, she smiles wider, then rubs her face as she takes her robe off, noticing something different when she looked down. She pulled her nightgown out and looked down, her eyes widened.

“Oh, my God!”

She grabbed the book she’d been reading and found what she was looking for.

“On your third or fourth post-partum day, your breasts my swell slightly.”

She puts the book down and looks at them again.

“Slightly? I look like freaking Dolly Parton!”

She looks at them one more time, groaning, then hearing her doorbell, grabbing the baby and going into the kitchen, setting him on the table and going to answer the door, seeing it was Kai before she closes it again.

“Oh, no!”

She opens the door again, sighing. “Sorry!”

She opens it more and lets him in.

“Oh, real nice!”

He looks at her, his brows raised.

“Ooh, you got your figure back, didn’t you?”

She gives him a look, backing away from him and going over to the baby. “This is not my figure!”

“Looks like you got Pamela Anderson’s figure back!”

She ignores him and walks around to find some money.

“Look, I’m sorry I hit you and yelled at you the other day. I was in a lot of pain with Nick. And I know I still owe you that cab fare. Someone stole my purse at the hospital and I don’t leave much cash around.”

Kai walks over to Nick and looks down at him. “How you doing, buddy? How do you like Mystic Falls so far?”

He just looks up at Kai and smiles.

Hope walks over to him and gives him a little money. “Okay, this is a horrible tip, but I’ll get back to you later.”

She suddenly realizes something and pulls the money back. “Wait a minute! How did you know where I lived?”

He pulls out her purse and hands it to her. “You left it in the cab.”

She nods and looks at him, taking it. “Thanks!”

“You never look through that thing, do you?”

She takes it and looks in it for some money. “Why do you say that?”

“Cause you’re still carrying around your diaphram.”

She gives him an evil look as he laughs. He then looks down at Nick.

“I don’t know. What do you think? You think the drugs had any affect on him or what?”

She looks at him. “How did you know I had drugs?”

He raises his brows. “I don’t! I didn’t! It’s just, you can tell in his eyes! He looks like stoned or something!”

She looks at Nick, feeling offended. “He doesn’t look stoned! He looks perfect!”

He shrugs. “Well, you don’t look so hot yourself, you know!”

She looks up at him, sighing. “Why don’t you try squeezing something the size of a watermelon out of an opening the size of a lemon and see how hot you look!”

He puts his hand on his chest. “Ouch! I should call my mother more often, huh?”

He reaches over and points to the food he brought. “You want a sub? I brought a sub.”

“No, thank you. Would you just watch him for a couple minutes while I change my clothes?”

“Sure!”

“And don’t take him out of his chair and don’t touch him a whole lot.”

She walks off to her room as Kai looks at Nick.

He holds his finger out for Nick to take.

“How you doing, Nick? I’m Kai.”

Nick smiles up at Kai, who smiles back before talking to Hope. “So, how long have you been in this apartment?”

“About five years.”

“Were you born here in Mystic Falls?”

“No, I was born in New Orleans. Are you from the census beurau or something?”

She changes into a dress, not liking how her breasts looked in it, finding a scarf to put over it, nodding as she looks in the mirror.

Kai goes back to talking to Nick.

“How do you like the outside world, huh? It’s weird, isn’t it? You spend nine months trying to get out and the rest of your life trying to get back in.”

He looks down at Nick, noticing him looking at his drink.

“Oh this? This here is your first lesson on coffee. Without anything in it, it’s just black coffee. Can you say black coffee?”

He smiles as Nick just looks at him.

“Then there’s coffee regular, and that is two sugars and milk, which they have forgotten. So can I borrow some of yours?”

He takes some of the milk out of Nick’s bottle and pouring a little of it in his coffee. Then he holds it up and smiles.

“Ah, coffee regular! I love it!”

Hope stands there and watches him, then sees him drink it, raising her brows. “You know, that’s breast milk.”

Kai instantly spits out the drink, making Hope laugh as he chuckles and looking at Nick. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He smiles as he stands up. “Well, I’ll see you guys later, okay? I’m gonna take my sub and my breast milk and I’m gonna get out of here.”

He gets up, waving bye to Hope and Nick and leaves.

\------------------------------

After spending a few weeks adjusting to life as a new mom, she decides to take Nick to the park. As she sits on a park bench, she reads to herself about post-partum depression.

“Due to changing hormones, over 80% of all women experience post-partum depression.” She looks over at Nick and then back to the book. “Well, I’m not gonna!"

\------------------------------

Sitting on her couch, Hope was watching a commercial in tears as Nick started crying. She got up and picked him up, sitting him on the couch with her, holding him.

“That’s it! You have some exotic baby disease and I look like I could play the lead in Night of the Living Dead! And your father deserted us so he could bang his interior decorator! I think it’s safe to say things can’t get any worse!”

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and it opened. Hope then heard the voice of her mother.

“Hello?”

She looked down at Nick. “I was wrong!”

Hayley came into the living room, smiling. “Where’s my grandson?”

Hope held him up for Hayley to take.

“There he is!”

She then took him as Hope looked up at Nick’s confused face and chuckled as Hayley held him close to her.

“Hello, Nick. Do you know who I am? I’m your grandma!”

She gives him a kiss on the cheek and then holds him closer, feeling something and smiling. “Who’s got a dirty diaper? Let’s get you changed, little guy!”

Hayley goes into his room with Hope as she gets his clothes off and takes his diaper off him, getting ready to put another one on as she grabs the powder.

Hayley looks at Hope. “You know, if you had a husband instead of an unknown guy, things wouldn’t be this hard. And you wouldn’t look this awful.”

Hope glares at her mother. “Thank you, mom!”

Hope sees how much powder Hayley was putting on Nick and she shakes her head. “You’re putting way too much powder on him.”

Hayley looks at her. “Why don’t you get out of here, huh? I’m gonna give Nick a little bath and after that, we’re gonna have ourselves a bottle!”

Hope called Josie and they went out to get something to eat. Then they went walking down the street.

“Josie, if there wasn’t such a thing as love, what kind of guy would you get to be a kid’s father?”

“Someone with a small mouth and good hair! Broad shoulders...”

“No! I’m talking about, what kind of man would you want to stick around and help raise your child?”

Teasing her, Josie asked, “There are men here who do that?”

Hope smiled and rolled her eyes. “Okay, I know what I’m looking for. I’m looking for a guy who’s not married, not into drugs, not an alcoholic. Not a deadbeat but not someone who works 20 hours a day.”

“And cute!”

Hope shakes her head. “Cute’s not a consideration.”

Josie looks at her in shock. “Come on!”

“Cute is of absolute no importance!”

So, for the next few weeks, Hope goes on dates and sees things in each that has her concerned for how each would treat Nick and realizes none of them would work for her, she feels like she should just give up.

\------------------------------

Coming in from a walk with Nick, Hope sees Kai standing there in the lobby of the apartment building, smiling.

“Hey, someone call for a cab?”

He turns and looks at her. “Yeah, how about that, huh? Small world!”

She smiles and checks her mail, sighing. “More mail for David Parker! I don’t even know this guy!”

Kai looks at her. “Why don’t you let me have them?” He puts them above the mail boxes, looking at her. “See, all you do is put them up here. Postman will take care of them.”

She nods and looks at him. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Good seeing you, too. See you.”

He watches as she turns the corner to go to the elevator. Then taking the mail and putting it in his jacket pocket.

Hope peeks around the corner, seeing him do it, coming back out. “You stupid sonofabitch! You’re stealing my mail!”

“I’m not stealing your mail!”

“What did you just put in your pocket?”

“These are mine!”

“Yours? You just got them out of my mailbox!”

“No, look, I sent them here, okay? Can I explain?”

“You better explain fast cause I’m gonna call the police!”

“My grandfather’s David, okay? And he just got kicked out of his nursing home and I found a new place for him here. But I’m not a resident. I live just outside of town. So I was thinking, you know...”

“You wanted to use my mailing address to set up residency?”

Nodding and shrugging. “Yeah.”

She shakes her head. “I could have you arrested for this!”

“For what?”

They both walk to the elevator as Hope says, “Screwing with the mail is a federal offense, buster!”

“Stealing mail’s a federal offense, not screwing with it! Look, can I get the other letters or what?”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Cause I don’t wanna get involved in this!”

“Oh, you are something else! You know, I went out of my way to bring back your purse so you didn’t have to cancel your credit cards or go to the DMV or anything!”

She lets out a sarcastic chuckle. “Well, thank you! Thank you very much! This happens to be illegal and I don’t wanna get caught!”

“You’re not gonna get caught! Look, I’ll do something for you, okay?”

“Yeah, like what?”

They get to her apartment and she unlocks the door as he stands there with her.

“Well, I’ll babysit.”

They walk in as she chuckles. “Oh, come on! You don’t know how to take care of a baby!”

“I do! Look I had practice with my sister’s kids and I know a lot about babies!”

Hope takes Nick out of his stroller. “Okay then. Friday night.”

“Ooh, Friday’s no good.”

She shrugs. “Okay, then forget the whole deal.”

He looks at her. “Okay, Friday’s okay, but that’s it.”

“And during my aerobics classes.”

“I said that’s it!”

She turns to look at him.

“One aerobics class.”

“Saturday.”

“Can’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“I teach.”

“What do you teach? Taxi driver’s ed?”

He glares at her as she lets out a laugh. “That’s not funny!”

“Okay, if you wanna babysit, here’s the deal. Friday nights, two aerobics classes and you can’t bring girls over.”

He lets out a laugh. “Oh, you’re pushing it! Alright, deal!”

Hope smiles as she tries to give Nick a bottle only for him to push it away.

“Why do you force feed him like that?”

“I’m not force-feeding him!” She looks at Nick. “Why don’t you take a nap?”

“He doesn’t look like he needs a nap.”

Hope lets out a yawn. “He’s a baby! He doesn’t know what he needs!”

“Well, he knows he’s not tired!” He looks at Nick. “Are you tired?”

Hope sighs as she looks at him. “If he doesn’t take a nap, he will wake up and wanna eat when it’s time to sleep!”

“Who says?”

“All those doctors!”

“All those doctors. All those...” He rolls his eyes. “They write a book, right? And they wanna sell a book!”

“Dr. Spock does not just wanna sell a book! Dr. Spock loves us! During the Vietnam War, he was protesting in the streets!”

He chuckles. “Sorry I said anything about Dr. Spock, okay?” He looks over at Nick and whispers. “I can’t believe she’s getting that upset about a vulcan. Big ears, no emotions, right?” He looks back at Hope. “Got any other letters?”

“Out in the hallway.”

Kai gets up to get them and comes back in and sees Hope asleep, putting the letters down and then picking Hope up and carrying her to bed, covering her up and walking out, letting her sleep, looking at Nick.

“Hey, Nick? What do you say you and me take a ride so your mom can sleep? Is that a deal?” He grabs the diaper bag and a bottle, putting it in the bag and then gets Nick, taking him out to the cab with him.

“See that? That’s my cab. I do this to make money. But not for long.”

He puts Nick next to him, fastening the carseat in and then getting in and looks at Nick. “Okay, Nick. Now this is called driving. When you get old enough, I’m gonna teach you how.”

He starts the car and drives off, heading to the nursing home, finding David’s room and walking in.

“Hey, grandpa!”

David looks over and sees Nick, but not Kai, nor did he hear him. “Do I know you?”

He goes back to watch his movie, sitting back in his chair and looking up again, smiling. “Kai! Hey, Kai!”

He then looks back at the baby and up at Kai. “I don’t remember you having a baby.”

“No, he’s not mine. He belongs to a friend of mine. I’m looking after him for a bit.”

David smiles and leans in to Nick, who reaches up and grabs hold of one of David’s eyebrows. David pretends to yell in pain as he just laughs.

Kai looks at Nick, smiling. “Hey, Nick, be good, buddy!”

Nick just looks up at David and laughs.

Kai brings Nick home after leaving the nursing home, walking inside. “Honey, I’m home!”

Hope comes running in, taking Nick away from Kai.

“Hey, you’re up!”

Hope ignores Kai, carrying Nick over to the kitchen table. “My baby! Oh, honey! I love you so much!”

Kai smiles as he watches. “Aww, a mama and her baby!”

The next thing Kai knows, Hope punches him. She picks up a broom and hits him with it.

“Stupid, stupid idiot! I called the police! I was worried out of my mind!”

“You knew I was with him!”

“How do I know you’re not a kidnapper? Have you ever heard of Amber Alerts?”

He stands up, looking at her. “I was babysitting for you!”

“That means the baby stays here and you said...” She suddenly feels a sharp pain. “Oh, dammit!”

“What?”

“I got a splinter!”

“Here, let me see.”

Kai takes her hand and looks at it, then asks her, “You got a needle?”

Nodding and pointing to a drawer. “In there.”

He gets the needle out and they both sit at the table. He takes her hand and doesn’t even touch her before she tries pulling her hand away.

“Oh, stop!”

She fidgets around and he looks up at her. “If you don’t hold still, I can’t do this.”

She cries out in pain.

“Oh, that doesn’t hurt!”

“It hurts!”

He looks at her, trying again.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow! You’re poking me too hard! You’re poking me!”

“If you don’t hold still, I can’t get it out!”

“It hurts!”

“Oh, it can’t hurt that much!”

“Oh, how would you know? It’s stuck in me!”

He starts pinching it to get it out, hearing her yell more.

“Ow, that does hurt!”

He then gets it out and holds it up to show her. “Oh, that’s a big one, huh?”

“I’ve never had one that big in me!”

He kisses her finger as he looks at her. “All better!”

She looks at him and then gets up. “I better put Nick down for his nap.”

He gets up and walks over Nick. “Nick! I gotta go, buddy! See ya! Ready? High five!”

He playfully has Nick give him a high five.

“Low five!”

Giving him a low five.

“Baby five!”

Putting Nick’s hand in his then a finger in Nick’s palm, smiling. “Bye, buddy!” He then looks at Hope. “See you later.”

He walks out, seeing Hayley in the hallway with a look on her face as if she’d heard what just happened inside, zipping up his fly as he walks past her.

Hayley looks disgusted as she walks into the apartment and up to Hope.

“Hope, who was that?”

“The babysitter.”

“The babysitter?”

“Yeah.”

“Hope, I just wanna know one thing. He’s not the donor, is he?”

“Mom!”

“Alright, give me the baby.”

Hope hands Nick over to Hayley and goes to the bathroom while Hayley looks to see if there’s any resemblance.


	6. Old Ghosts

**Several Months Later**

Hope was hanging out at her parents house, watching Klaus outside playing with Nick.

“Mom, you know, you’re right. Nick does need a father. I keep going out with these guys and they’re just not good enough for him.”

“Nick will like whoever you like.”

“That’s the problem, mom. I don’t like anyone.”

“You know what the secret is? You gotta find someone you have something in common with. Like your dad and I.”

Suddenly Hayley got an idea.

“I just thought of someone perfect for you!”

Shaking her head. “No, mom! Please, don’t!”

“He’s handsome and very smart! You’ll love him!”

\-------------------------------

Friday night, there was a knock on Hope’s door. She opens it and sees her date.

“Well, hello! Boy, Hayley didn’t tell me you were beautiful!”

Hope smiles. “I’m surprised. That’s usually the first thing she tells people, but thank you. Come on in.”

He walks in, smiling, leading him into the living room.

“This is my son, Nick. I’m gonna go finish getting ready so just make yourself at home.”

He smiles and nods, sitting next to Nick.

“Hey, little guy! How you doing? What’re you watching, huh? You watching some TV?”

He takes the remote from Nick. “Here, let me show you.”

He turns it on a football game and Nick just looks up at him before hitting a button, seeing a commercial, smiling and pointing to the screen. The man turns it back on football and it turns into them going back and forth.

Suddenly there was another knock and Hope answers the door, seeing it was Kai. Then she notices he’s dressed up.

“What are you all dressed up for?”

“Oh, I got myself a hot date tonight.”

“Well, you better call your hot date cause I don’t know how late I’m gonna be.”

He chuckles. “Oh, yeah, right! Your mom set you up, right? Nine-thirty, tops!”

“Don’t count on it!”

“Besides, my baby’ll wait for me all night!”

They walk in and Kai follows her into the living room as she looks at her date. “Gary, this is Kai, the babysitter. I’m just gonna go freshen up a little.”

Kai walks over and shakes hands with Gary. “Hey, how you doing?”

“How’re you, Kai?”

“Good. Just watching the game, huh?”

“Yeah, I got money on this game.”

“So I understand you’re an accountant, right?”

“Yeah, a CPA.”

“That’s great! You and Hope will get along great! You know, she’s a CPA.”

Gary nods. “Yeah, her mom told me.”

“Yeah, it’s gotta be hard, being a mom and a CPA. But Hope, she’s a tough girl.”

“What do you mean tough?”

“Well, she hates it when guys like open doors for her, or try to pick up the check? Really pisses her off!”

He nods. “So she’s liberating, huh?”

“Liberating? Come on, a guy babysitter?”

He just nods as Hope comes back in. “Come here, Nick. Say bye-bye to mama.” She gives Nick a kiss and hug before she and Gary leave. Kai sits next to Nick and looks at him, giving him a high five before they watch TV.

After the date, Gary brings her home and she goes back up to her apartment irritated, seeing the kitchen a mess, then walks into the living room to see Kai laying on the couch asleep with Nick on his chest, taking the blanket hanging on the back of the couch and covering them up with it.

\----------------------------

Hope and Nick are in the apartment, listening to music as Hope was fixing him his lunch, dancing around for him while Kai comes up to the door and peeks in, watching her. Nick laughs as he watches her.

She puts his lunch on the tray of his high chair just as Kai opens the door, walking in and singing, starting to dance with Hope, dipping her till she was laying on the table, laughing as she looked up at him, then remembered Nick, looking over and then whispering to Kai, “We shouldn’t do this in front of Nick.”

They both stand up as Kai looks at Nick. “Look at that look on his face.”

She sighs. “He looks like his father!”

Kai looks at her confused. “I thought you were artificially inseminated?”

She shrugs and nods. “I was. But I never make that face, so I assume his father does.”

He bought it and shrugged. “You know what I was gonna do today that I thought you’d enjoy doing?”

She raised her brows. “What?”

“I was gonna move my grandfather over his new home. I mean, you helped him get in there.”

“And you thought I’d enjoy that?”

“Yeah, you’d enjoy it. And maybe sign some papers for me or something.”

She chuckles. “You are such a baby. If you want me to something, why don’t you just ask?”

“Will you please come with me to sign these papers?”

She smiles at him. “Yes.”

She then walks off to her room to change as Kai stands there, looking at Nick.

“Yep, that’s how you handle a woman, Nick.”

They get to the nursing home David was leaving and an orderly was taking his bags and putting them in the trunk while David was panicking.

“Give me my bags! Give me my bags!”

“Grandpa, he’s not stealing your bags.”

“I got my teeth in there!”

“Teeth are coming with us.”

“Tell them not to touch my teeth.”

“Okay! Don’t touch his teeth!”

They all get into the cab and head to the new nursing home and they get out of the car. Kai smiles.

“Welcome, gramps!”

David looks up at the building. “Are we stopping for a bite to eat?”

Kai shakes his head. “No, this is your new place!”

David looks at him. “They serve good shrimp here?”

“Yeah, the shrimp is good. You should try the lobster, though.”

They get to David’s new room and Kai looks at David excitedly. “This is great! You got a terrific view! Look, you got no roommate to bug you! You got color television, look at that!”

He looks at the orderly and pulls him to the side. “Listen, my grandfather’s got kind of a sweet tooth and there’s enough candy in here to last him for about a month. He only gets one candy bar a day. That’s it. And don’t let him find the bag cause he’ll eat all of it.”

He hands the orderly the bag and walks back over to David, seeing a tray of food in front of him. “Smells good, huh?”

“I’d like to see you eat it!”

Kai looks at him, taking a bite of everything, making it seem like it was good. David then takes the fork and starts to eat, looking over at Hope.

“What do you want?”

Kai looks at him. “That’s Hope. She helped get you into this place.”

David tries to take a bite of potatoes when he dropped his fork. Nick picked it up and fed David a bite.

After they got David settled in, Kai took Hope home. She then put Nick to bed since he’d fallen asleep in the car.

Kai looked at Hope and instantly wrapped his arms around her, kissing her deeply as Hope kissed him back, both going to her room.

He lays Hope in her bed, getting her shirt off of her, kissing her neck and shoulders.

Hope lay there, her mind suddenly going to what their future would be like and, though it was a happy future, it scared her. She pushed him off her and looked at him.

“Kai, I’m sorry. I really am. I really do want this.”

“I do, too.”

“But it’s Nick.”

“What? He’s asleep.”

“I know, but I have to be very clear with the choices I make for him. I can’t get all swept up in sex and emotion and stuff. That’s how I got in trouble. I can’t act like some stupid teenage girl who sleeps with someone she has a crush on and then realizes the next day it was a mistake. Cause the only one who’s gonna get hurt is Nick.”

“But I’m crazy about Nick. I’m crazy about you.”

“God, please don’t hate me for this. I know back there I was leading you and you’re just such a good kisser and I haven’t had sex in a long time and...”

Kai kissed her again before she pulled him away.

“Goodbye. Please? Goodbye.”

She got him out the door and shut it.

\------------------------------

Sitting at her desk at work, Hope saw her boss, Mr. Ross, come up to her.

“Hope, let me ask you something. What’s with you and Kirby Inc.?”

Josie heard Mr. Ross and listened in, not looking up.

Hope looked at him. “Mr. Ross. I made up all my work from my maternity leave. And as far as Sienna, I traded him two of his accounts for the Kirby Inc. account cause I can’t do it anymore. It’s personal.”

“This is what I mean. We’re accountants. We’re not personal.”

“But, I...I...I don’t...”

“You’ve been his accountant for years! And now, with all the new tax laws and he needs you the most, you desert him?”

“No, I don’t think you understand...”

“I want you up there tomorrow afternoon. And that’s final.”

Hope glared at him.

“Don’t give me that look!” He looks over at Josie. “And you! Quit snooping and get back to work!”

He walks off as Josie looks up at Hope sympathetically.

The next day, Hope goes to Landon’s office with her things, sitting in the waiting room when his secretary tells her she could go in. She gathers her things and stands up, walking in.

“Hope! How’s Mike?”

Hope corrects him as she walks over to his desk and sits down. “Nick.”

“Is he talking yet?”

“No.”

“Walking?”

“Yes.”

Landon smiles. “I still remember the first time Alyssa crawled across the floor.”

“You know, Landon, I’m really not interested in any of your anticdotes starring you as the good father.”

“Hope, I’ve been meaning to talk to you for so long.”

She looks up at him. “I’m here to do your taxes, Landon. Not talk.”

She spends the next few hours going over everything.

“Bloomingdale’s, eyelashes, tanning, body wraps, facials. Landon, you can’t deduct any of this crap.”

He walks over to her. “Could the personal exercise instructor be a medical expense?”

“Did she suffer any injuries to go to physical therapy for?”

“No.”

She shakes her head. “Can’t. So, what’s the little woman been up to?”

She goes through more papers as she asks, then looks confused. “Is Penelope sick? What are all these doctor bills for her?”

“Oh, that’s for her therapy. Bree’s been communicating with the dead and it’s scary for Penelope. We’ve all been seeing psychiatrists together. I’ve been learning a lot.”

She sighs. “I’m happy for you, Landon.”

“Hope, I know you’ve been through a lot. But you’ve gotta believe, I love you. I never wanted anything bad to happen to you, but I realize that it turned out that way.”

She turns and looks at him. “It took you $20,000 to figure that out, Landon?”

He looks at her. “Do you have a picture of Mike?”

“Nick!”

“I’m sorry. I’m very nervous. I think about you and Nick everyday.”

“Never know it from our end.”

“I try to call every day and I can’t do it. I’m too ashamed to say anything. Too worried about what you’d say. I’ve been so confused.”

Letting out a sigh, Hope takes a picture of Nick out of her purse and hands it to him. Landon beams when he sees it.

“He has my eyes!”

“I know he does. You have no idea how confusing it is to love someone so much who looks like someone you hate.”

“Can I see him, Hope? Please?”

She sighs. “Alright. I’ll be home later on this evening.”

\-------------------------------

Hope walks into her apartment after her aerobics class, seeing the kitchen a mess, looking up and seeing Kai looking a little pissed off.

“What happened?”

“Who’s Landon?”

“Why? Was he here?”

“Is he Nick’s father?”

“What?”

“You lied to me about the artificial insemination crap, didn’t you?”

She goes to the fridge and gets a drink. “He was married. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“Do you love him? Do you?”

She doesn’t answer him and he slams the refrigerator door shut and turns her around.

“What?”

“Do you love him?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know who I love! And, you know what, it doesn’t really make any difference to me because all that matters to me is who’s best for Nick. And Landon’s successful, he’s responsible and he’s good with his other kids.”

“Well, I don’t want him seeing Nick again.”

“Oh no, don’t start pulling this on me! He’s Landon’s son and he has a right to see him anytime he wants to!”

“Where the hell has he been all year?”

“This has nothing to do with you! You are not his father!”

“Well, I’m the closest thing that he’s got to it!”

“Oh, please! Look at you! You’re like a big kid! Oh, what, you really think you’re responsible enough to be a father?”

Kai lets out a laugh. “Responsible? You call getting knocked up by a married man responsible? Oh, that’s good!”

“Stop it!”

“No, you stop it!”

“You stop it!”

“No, you stop it! I’ve seen you use Nick to push guys away and now you’re doing it to me! That’s it! I’ve had it! Get out!”

“I live here!”

“I know it!”

He then walks out the door and slams it shut. Hope then looks at Nick and sighs.


	7. Confused and Conflicted

“Mom, can a man who’s past a certain age change?”

Hayley looks at Hope and nods. “Sure. Look at your dad. He used to be outdoorsy and now he prefers to stay in.”

Shaking her head. “I’m not talking about that. I mean, can someone go through a bad phase and then be nicer?”

Hayley shakes her head. “That I don’t know about.”

“Remember when you met dad? How did you know he was gonna be a good father?”

“I didn’t. I just liked the way he looked in his clothes.”

Hope looks at her confused. “What? You spent all this time with a man you thought looked good in his clothes? Mom, you had no idea if he was a mature, responsible person!”

Hayley chuckled. “If I thought like that, we wouldn’t have made it through the first week. And that was some week!”

Hope makes a face. “Oh God, mom, don’t talk about sex and dad!”

Hayley just looks at her and laughs.

\--------------------------------

Hope stands in Nick’s room, getting some clothes together, then looking at him.

“We’re gonna go see daddy today! You have to look fantastic! What do you think? The blue or the lamb?”

Nick just looks at the clothes and then up at her.

“The lamb right?”

She puts a shirt with lambs on it on him, then putting him in some bibs and a pair of new shoes, looking at him.

“You look great!”

After getting herself dressed and ready, she puts him in his stroller and heads over to Landon’s office, walking inside. Landon walks up and smiles.

“Hope, hey! This must be Nick!” He leans in and looks at him. “Hey, little guy! What are you doing, huh? Aren’t you a handsome little...”

Suddenly, Nick squirts him with some milk. Landon just laughs.

“Bullseye, buddy!”

Hope wanted to laugh but looks at Landon. “Oh, don’t worry. That’ll come out. It won’t stain.” She looks down at Nick. “Come on, Nick. Be a good boy.”

She takes him out of his stroller so he could walk around then folds the stroller up and sits down.

“He’s perfect, Hope! He looks just like you!”

She shrugs. “That’s what everyone says, but I don’t see it.”

“I know the circumstances you had him under were terrible, but when I look at him, I know he wasn’t a mistake.”

She raises her brows, nodding. “Well, he’ll be glad to hear that.”

She looks over and sees him playing with some things that looked breakable.

“Nick, no, no! Don’t do that!”

Landon sits down and looks at her. “Hope, people find themselves in situations that they don’t always have the strength to get out of.”

She looks at him confused while still keeping an eye on Nick. “What are you trying to say, Landon? Nick, mommy said don’t touch that!”

Landon looks back at Nick and then back to Hope. “I’m saying that I still love you and I still want you.”

She smiles and nods toward Nick. “And what about Nick?”

“You know you can always count on me if there’s ever anything you need for him.”

She looks at him in shock. “I need a father for him.”

“Hope, I gotta be honest. I’m living alone for the first time in seventeen years and I’m in therapy. I can’t be anyone’s father now. I need to be by myself now. I’ve raised my kids.”

“Raised them? They’re eleven and nine! Don’t tell me they’ve moved out and gotten jobs!”

“Well, it wouldn’t be fair to Nick.” He looks back over at Nick. “Is he taking a dump?”

She glares at him, standing up. “No, he’s thinking real hard!”

She walks over and picks Nick up, putting him on Landon’s desk, starting to change him.

“Why don’t you use the washroom in the bathroom?”

She ignores him, shaking her head. “What am I gonna tell him when he asks about his daddy?”

“Don’t do that here! That’s a $10,000 desk!”

She takes the diaper off, slamming the dirty side down onto the desk. “Now it’s junk!”

“God dammit, Hope! I’m trying to be honest here! I thought you’d understand!”

As she finishes cleaning Nick up and putting another diaper on him, she says, “I do understand, Landon! I’m a very understanding person! I understand that you are going through a selfish phase.” She picks Nick up and puts him down as she goes over to get the stroller. “And I’m sure that you will understand that I am going through a destructive phase.”

She walked over and smashed one of his favorite art pieces, then put Nick in the stroller and left.

\----------------------------

Later that day, Hope was sitting in the apartment holding Nick, looking down at him.

“I’m sorry I made you wear that stupid outfit. And I’m sorry you had to meet that mean man. You’ll never have to see him again. You know, I don’t get it. Anytime I take you anywhere, people say how cute you are and how crazy they are about you. Then we see someone with a genetic bond and he treats you like dirt. You know everybody loves you. All the kids at the playground. Grandma loves you, Josie loves you, everyone at work loves you. Kai loves you.”

She looks down at him. “Nick, do you love Kai?”

He just looks up at her, playing with his toy phone, holding it up to her.

“What, baby? You wanna play telephone?”

He keeps it up for her, smiling. She takes it and put it up to her ear.

“Hello?”

Just then the phone rings and she looks at Nick, putting him on the couch, getting up and answering the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is Lou Franklin. I’ve got a big problem with your grandfather here. He’s become abusive and violent with my staff and I’m afraid you’ll have to come pick him up. Or I’ll have to call welfare.”

“No, don’t do that. I’ll be right there to pick him up. See you soon.”

She goes to get Nick and they head out to the nursing home. She goes to see David first, putting Nick down.

“Grandpa, what’s going on?”

David looks at her. “Look, I’m a hostage!”

The orderly standing in the room with him looks at her. “He’s not a hostage. He’s a mean old bastard!” He raises his arm up to show Hope. “See what he did to my arm? And he gave the nurse a black eye!”

“They’re hiding Dora!”

“They’re not hiding anyone.”

David stands up, getting hostile. “Then where is she? Where’s my wife?”

Hope comes over and gently sits David down. “Grandpa, don’t worry. I’ll find her for you.”

She smiles and takes a tissue, gently wiping his face off. “Let get that cleaned off your face. You wanna look good when you see her, don’t you?”

David looks up at Hope. “Of all my daughter-in-laws, you’re my favorite. You’re smart and you’re a good person. That’s why Kai loves you so much.”

Hope stands there, smiling, not knowing what to say to that.

Just then Nick holds up a picture of Kai. David sees and walks over to him. “You wanna see pictures? I’ll show you pictures.”

He sits in a chair and puts Nick in his lap. Hope looks around and sees candy wrappers.

“Grandpa, did you eat all these candy bars today?”

“What candy? The bastards stole my candy!”

“Okay, we’ll get you some more.” She looks at the orderly. “Where’s the director’s office?”

“Down the hall.”

She nods. “Okay. Come on, Nick. Come with mommy.”

David looks at her and calmly says, “Later. We’re busy.”

The orderly looks at her and says, “I’ll keep an eye on them for you.”

“Okay, thank you.” She then goes to the director’s office and sits down, explaining everything.

“He gets very disoriented and he kinda goes crazy, but this isn’t his usual behavior. That’s why my husband made arrangements with your orderly.”

“It isn’t the orderly’s responsibility to control his diet. Now if that’s the kind of care he requires, then you should have a private nurse.”

“That isn’t the kind of care he requires. The orderly was told by my husband to give him one candy bar away and lock up the rest of the candy. And the orderly agreed. He nodded and took the bag.”

“Well, then that was Bill. He always does that.”

“What do you mean?”

“The man doesn’t speak or understand English.”

Hope sighs. “Well, then can grandpa stay?”

Lou smiles. “Of course he can stay.”

“Thank you!”

“Thanks for coming down so fast.”

“No problem.”

She gets up and walks out, running into Kai.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I, uh, arranged it so that your grandfather could stay.”

“I know. I heard. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to do it.”

“Well, let me give you a ride home.”

She shakes her head. “Don’t bother.”

“Fine!”

She sighs, walking off. “Fine!”

Back in David’s room, one of the other orderlies asked the one in David’s room to help him with something so he asked David if he was alright with Nick.

“Get the hell out of here! We’re busy!”

He walks out, showing Nick some pictures when an old lady walks by.

“Hello, Dave.”

“Hello, Amelia.”

He puts Nick down, then puts his teeth in, getting up and going to the door. “Amelia, I’d like you to meet my grandson!”

Inside the room, Nick looked out the sliding door and saw a cab, thinking it was Kai, he decided to go looking for him, getting himself lost until he managed to get out of the building and into a car, thinking he was starting it and driving it when it was being towed.

David walked back into the room just as Kai and Hope were coming in.

“Nick?”

Hope looks at David. “Grandpa, where’s Nick?”

“He was just here.”

“I know he was just here. How long ago did he leave?”

David starts looking at his watch as Hope starts searching the room while Kai checks the hallway.

Before it was over, everyone was looking for Nick. Kai and Hope finally figured out he’d gone outside. Then Hope saw him in the car that was being towed.

“He’s in that car!”

“I’ll get the cab!”

Kai pulls his cab up to get Hope and they drive off to find Nick, not seeing him, Kai pulls over and they look around when Hope spots him in the middle of the road. Kai runs for him, yelling at him not to move, but Nick starts walking toward Kai until a car almost hits him, then he stands there scared.

Kai finally gets to him, picking him up, holding him. Then Hope comes running up.

“Give me my baby!”

They take him over to the sidewalk and Hope checks him out. “I can’t believe it! He doesn’t have a mark on him! I better take him to the hospital anyway in case he had internal injuries.”

“Nah, he’s a tough kid.”

Hope looks up at him. “Thanks for all your help."

Kai nods as he looks at her.

Out of nowhere, Nick blurts out, “Dada!”

Kai and Hope both look at him.

“He said...he said dada!”

“I think he called you dada! He really thinks you are his father!”

“Well, I have spent a lot of time with him. He probably thinks we’re gonna end up together.”

They look at each other and Kai pulls Hope in for a kiss, which she doesn’t resist.


	8. Adding To The Family

**One Year Later**

Kai walks into the hospital room with a now two year old Nick. He smiles when he sees Josie and her boyfriend walk out.

Josie looks up at Nick, kissing his hand and smiles. “Hey cutie!”

Kai smiles at Nick, walking into the room, Hope sitting up in bed holding a newborn baby. She smiles when she sees Kai and Nick.

She looks at Nick and smiles wide. “Hey, baby boy!”

Kai takes Nick over to the new baby and sits down on the edge of the bed.

“Nick, this is your little sister, Andrea.”

Hope looks at him, smiling. “Can you say hi to Andrea?”

Nick looks at her and smiles. “Hi, Andrea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was so short but it's still a happy ending! Thanks for reading!


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